Mary Holmes

Mary worked as a district nurse and, on a voluntary basis and at her own expense, has visited many rural organisations in India over the years as a member of the Association for Sarva Seva Farms [ASSEFA], which serves nearly 6000 Indian villages, of UKOWLA and of One World Link.

In 2013 she helped to organise a meeting at SOAS – Land – is it a right? The reason? “In the past decade an area of land eight times the size of the UK has been sold off globally as land sales rapidly accelerate. (Oxfam Report: Our Land, Our Lives) Across the world though, people are fighting for their land and livelihood. People interested in indigenous rights, land rights, food sovereignty or development in general, heard the response of movements like Ekta Parishad in India, and others”.

An active campaigner against repression and the arms trade, Mary’s views have been clearly and forcefully stated by correspondence, in the press and on the radio.

She spent time to put pressure on her MP Vince Cable over the licensing of arms exports and noted that though people are often not particularly keen to sign petitions there was a tremendous response with an anti-arms trade petition in Twickenham with practically everyone keen to sign.

Mary shared with many a great admiration for peace campaigner Brian Haw who protested In Parliament Square for many years. She was one of 15,000 people in London who joined the world-wide protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza.

They gathered in London to call for an end to Israeli military action in Gaza and ‘justice and freedom’ for Palestine in 2014, marching through the capital from Downing Street to the Israeli embassy in Kensington.

Mary updated the database of ICOM-supported worker co-operatives, now part of Co-operatives UK – writing an interesting article about her reaction to those with whom she interacted during the project.

She is currently participating in the national curriculum’s world citizenship programmes, visiting schools in the London area and campaigning for a good NHS service in her area (Twickenham plus).